MBTA opens rider survey on Canton-area bus routes

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is asking riders of four bus routes that serve Canton to weigh in on future service through an online survey.

The survey covers Routes 712, 713, 714 and 716, all fixed bus routes operated by private contractors, according to a Canton town alert. The MBTA described it as its second biannual Private Fixed Routes Survey, according to a Winthrop municipal newsletter published Oct. 22.

The routes connect communities including Canton, Mattapan, Winthrop, Hull and East Boston. Route 716, the line most familiar to Canton riders, runs between Mattapan Station and the Village Shoppes of Canton, with stops at Canton Center and Canton Junction commuter rail stations.

The MBTA said the survey aims to understand where riders want to go, identify destinations that need better connections and collect feedback to improve service. Riders who complete the survey will be entered into a raffle for a $20 Visa gift card.

No fixed closing date has been announced. The Winthrop newsletter stated the survey will remain open until the MBTA reaches its target response rate.

Riders can take the survey at MBTA.com/PrivateFixedRouteSurvey.

The survey comes months after the MBTA expanded service on two of the four routes. In a March 11 announcement, the agency said it had launched a one-year pilot adding a second bus to Routes 714 and 716, backed by $1.5 million in federal and MBTA funding. Route 716 began running approximately every 40 to 45 minutes, seven days a week, an improvement from wait times that previously stretched 70 to 90 minutes. Sunday service on Route 716 was introduced for the first time.

Canton Town Administrator Charles Doody said in the March announcement that "the addition of a second bus and reduced wait times of the 716 route will provide a boost to Canton's small businesses in Canton Center to the Village Shoppes."

Whether Routes 712 and 713 have stops within Canton's borders is not clear from available records. The Winthrop newsletter listed Canton among the areas served by the broader route network.